Cole Eiserman 2024 NHL Draft Profile

It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Next up in our rankings is Cole Eiserman. Eiserman is one of the more divisive forwards available in the first round, as he’s seen his stock plummet in numerous draft rankings since the season began. He’s very much looking like a true boom or bust pick.

Who is Cole Eiserman?

Player	Position	Handedness	Height	Weight
Cole Eiserman	LW	L	6’0″	196 lbs

Eiserman was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and played his junior hockey in the USA hockey system. He stands at six-feet tall and weighs in at a solid 196 pounds. It’s also worth noting Eiserman is one of the youngest players in the draft and won’t turn 18 until August. He’s found himself all over draft rankings this year, coming in as high as second on some lists, and as low as 16th on others. He’s one of the true wild cards of the first round.

Eiserman’s on-ice production

Year	Draft Relative	League	Team	GP	G	A	P
2021–22	D-2	USHS-Prep	Shattuck St. Mary’s U18	53	56	30	86
2022–23	D-1	NTDP	U.S National U17	42	43	29	72
		NTDP	U.S. National U18	20	26	6	32
		USHL	USNTDP Juniors	32	28	16	44
2023–24	D+0	NTDP	U.S. National U18	48	48	26	74
		USHL	USNTDP Juniors	23	24	8	32

Eiserman has played all over the board in the past three years, but wherever he’s gone he’s absolutely racked up goals. During his D-2 year for Shattuck St. Mary’s, Eiserman totaled 83 points in 53 games, good for third on his team behind 2023 third round pick William Whitelaw and 2024 consensus first overall pick Macklin Celebrini. His 56 goals led his lead and were six more than Celebrini.

The following year Eiserman made the jump to the U.S. National team development program where he continued his torrid goal per game pace. In his first year with the U17 team he scored 43 goals in just 42 games which was 17 more than the next best player on his team. His 43 goals were the most in one season for the U17 team since Cole Caufield had 44 back in 2017-18.

He also added on 26 goals in 20 games for the U18 team, leading the team in goals per game and beating out multiple 2023 first round picks who were also on the roster. Lastly he suited up for 32 games for the USNTDP in the USHL, scoring 28 goals and 44 points in 32 games, good for second on the team behind only 2023 first rounder Gabe Perreault.

This season in his D+0 year he has continued to score goals at a historic rate, scoring 48 goals and 74 points for the U18 team in 48 games. The last player to score at a goal per game rate for the U18 team was, you guessed it, Caufield back in 2018-19 who had 72 in 64 games. Eiserman also added on 24 goals in 23 USHL games which led his team. The last player to put up a goal per game for the USNTDP in the USHL was of course Caufield in 2018-19.

Eiserman has also represented the USA at the U17 and U18 Worlds. He posted 12 goals and 20 points in seven games at the U17 tournament and nine goals and 11 games at the U18 tournament. Eiserman is a historic goal scorer so far in his young career. Across his 232 games in the past two seasons between the USNTDP program, team USA and Shattuck St. Mary’s, Eiserman has scored 246 goals. He’s currently the second highest scorer in USNTDP history.

Eiserman’s strengths

Elite shot

Without a doubt the biggest strength in Eiserman’s game and the main reason he’s considered a top 10 pick is his shot. There’s a strong argument he possesses the best shot in the entire draft class, and his goal scoring backs that up. He’s a threat to score from anywhere in the offensive zone because how strong and accurate his shot is. His release is so quick and clean that he’s able to get shots off in traffic and in tight with ease.

He’s the type of player who doesn’t really need to be open to score, he can score from anywhere regardless of how open he is. He’s that dangerous in the offensive zone. Eiserman is able to take aim and pick his spots at an elite rate, regularly finding holes in the goaltender that other players can’t.

He isn’t afraid to use his shot either as he regularly shoots from anywhere on the ice and averages nearly eight shots per game in junior. Whether it’s a wrist shot, snap shot, one timer, or tucking the puck in down low Eiserman is elite at using his shot in multiple ways.

Puck Skills

Outside of hit deadly shot, what stands out about Eiserman are his overall skills with the puck. He possesses strong stickhandling skills and quick hands that combined with his elite shot is scary combo to defend. There isn’t a pass he can’t corral. He’s able to use his quick hands to utilize a toe-drag release or stickhandle in tight areas to get just enough room to release his shot. When a player can combine such a quick and lethal release with the ability to dangle through defenders it’s a scary combo and Eiserman brings that.

His one-on-one play is among the very best in the draft class as he’s able to shake defenders with ease at times because of how quick he can stickhandle. Whether it’s off the rush or off the cycle in the offensive zone, Eiserman utilizes his high-end puck skills to beat defenders, sometimes multiple at once.

Eiserman is incredibly creative with the puck, creating plays and scoring chances out of nothing at times. He’s also an underrated playmaker and has shown the ability to find teammates in tight gaps using his puck skills and vision. That said his playmaking is only shown in flashes and nine out of ten times he’ll shoot instead of pass.

Eisermans’s areas of improvement

Decision making

One of the biggest knocks on Eiserman that has worried some scouts is his overall decision making with the puck. His play selection and overall decision making in all three zones can use a lot of work before he makes the jump to the NHL. Many times throughout a game he can try to do too much when there isn’t anything there, instead of making the safe play and regrouping. He’ll either lose the puck trying to dangle through multiple defenders or take low percentage shots into crowds over passing to open teammates.

He can make some head scratching plays at times, refusing to pass to wide open teammates only to then take on multiple defender and lose the puck or try to force a pass through traffic that gets easily intercepted. Simply put, Eiserman can be pretty selfish with the puck at times, trying to do everything himself instead of utilizing his teammates which gets him into trouble and leads to a lot of turnovers.

He’s too careless with the puck sometimes too which won’t go over well with pro level coaches. The worry right now is whether or not he can shake his bad habits or if they’ll always be a major part of his game. When he’s not scoring goals, he can be a frustrating player to watch.

Transitional play

Eiserman isn’t what you would call a play driver. At the next level he’ll need to ride shotgun with a play driving centre who does the heavy lifting in order to be successful. His transitional play can leave a lot to be desired at times. He struggles to gain the offensive zone off the rush and combined with poor decision making can lose the puck in dangerous areas of the ice, resulting in chances going the other way.

Even though he possesses strong puck skills, he can try to do too much in transition and attempts to go full Connor McDavid in traffic, which of course doesn’t end well most times. Instead of moving the puck or making the correct read, he’ll try to weave through multiple defenders and ends up turning the puck over before cleanly gaining the offensive zone.

Eiserman’s comparables

The obvious comparable for Eiserman is fellow American Cole Caufield. Both players put up similarly historic goal scoring numbers for the USNTDP and play a similar game when it comes to the offensive side of the puck. As well both possess elite shots and can score from anywhere on the ice because of well they shoot the puck and get it off their stick. Lastly Caufield is similar to Eiserman in that he also has high end puck skills and combines this with his shot to dominate offensively at times.

Fit with the Flames

The Flames are desperate for goal scoring talent so the fit is there right away. The team has been searching for elite goal scoring talent on the wing pretty much every season since Jarome Iginla left. Case in point, the Flames currently have a single player with 30 goals on the year with only seven games left in the season. While players like Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato are nice to have, neither are truly elite goal scorers.

Eiserman meanwhile would immediately become the organization’s best pure goal scorer by a significant margin. Even though the Flames have more glaring holes at centre and on defence, Eiserman’s goal scoring ability can’t be denied and there’s no doubt the Flames could use a player like him. The issue with picking Eiserman are the red flags that come with him, as he’d be a pretty major risk in the top 10. Given how important this draft is for the Flames as they kick off their rebuild, picking someone like Eiserman is a risk they likely won’t want to take.

Summary

Where Eiserman lands in the first round will be one of the more interesting things to watch on draft night. Once regarded as a sure fire top three pick, his lack of progress in many facets of the game now have him slipping outside the top 10 in some rankings. With Eiserman the potential is there, however his numerous drawbacks may prevent him from ever reaching his ceiling in the NHL.

With that said there’s a good chance Eiserman will become at minimum a 20 goal scorer in the NHL based solely on how strong his shot is. He’s the type of player who was born to score goals, which is something you can’t teach. However he’s unlikely to ever be the type of player who can drive his own line and will require the right situation and linemates to reach his full potential. That could scare off plenty of teams, but if he can figure it out he has legitimate 40-50 goal potential in the NHL.

Risk: 3/5

Reward: 4/5

Projection: Top-six goal scoring winger

Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:

Joshua SerafiniApril 7, 2024

7 minutes read